More Mud!

I know this looks like a nice, lush, green pasture, but It's actually a swamp. There is about 2 inches of water underneath all the grass.

Up close the whole thing actually looks like this.

So, the other day, when the kids (and Jason who isn't actually a kid although you'd never know it) were having their mud fight, Kalina pushed Jason into the pond. Jason jumped back out and started chasing Kalina.He had just about caught up to her when my adorable little Pomeranian guard dog took offense to some strange guy with an accent chasing after a young girl and decided to intervene. Griffon ran right under Jason's legs tripping him and making him fall into the mud.

This is when we discovered that my underwater field makes a great Slip N Slide. I know that you can buy Slip N Slides at most any store, but they're pretty little and they break quickly under the stress of more than 2 or 3 kids. Many of my large family friends just use a sprinkler and a tarp to make their own "Party Sized" version. Well, it seems that we don't even need to do that. Jason, Kalina, and Griffon had plenty of fun just sliding on the grass.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch any of the really big splashes with my camera, but trust me it was great!

Updates {May 2014}!

This pole near our house still hasn't been fixed weeks after being hit.

Our mail box was hit by a car again. This one didn't even make it a whole year, even after Rod moved the post back as far as we can and still have it be accessible. This is the 4th time our mailbox has been hit in the 5 years we've lived here. We know it was hit by a car, not farm equipment or a baseball bat, because the car mirror was on the ground under the mailbox this time. I didn't get pictures, but Devon did take pictures of the telephone pole down the road a little way that got hit almost a month ago. We live on a 50 MPH road that gets a pretty decent load of traffic and doesn't have much of a shoulder, but it is straight. I just can't figure out why it's so hard to stay on the road. I drive it all the time and have never had any problems staying in my lane. I get the poles around the corners being hit all the time. Okay, actually, I don't because it isn't really THAT hard to slow down around the corners, but on the straight stretches it should be possible to stay on the road. It should also be possible to fix broken poles in a timely manner, especially since it happens so often, but obviously that is too hard also.

Brenna has had quite a week. I know that's pretty common too. This week she spread the contents of her diaper all over her body and threw a HUGE fit when I tried to clean her up, then the very next day spread Lansinoh (purified lanolin for nursing moms) all over herself. She's had 4 baths in 2 days.

Owen has been really spoiled with being allowed to watch TV and or play Wii a lot more than our other kids have ever been allowed. With all of his health issues, we have used screen time as a crutch to get us through things like tube feedings, the after effects of bad seizures (sometimes he can't walk without falling for days after), and meals he can't eat; as well as rewards for eating his keto food or taking his medicine. Now that he's doing so much better, we're trying to wean him down to a more appropriate amount of screentime. Let's just say that he's trying REALLY hard to wear me down. He isn't used to entertaining himself (partially because we couldn't let him out of our sight safely for years), so he wants me to pay attention to him CONSTANTLY. Add in busy Brenna and hormonal teenagers, and I'm ready for a vacation. It doesn't even need to be anywhere expensive because I plan to spend most of it sleeping and the rest watching movies of my choice (no cartoons or talking animals) and knitting. Except,  a vacation isn't really going to fit into our schedule or budget, so I just get to plan it out in my head.

I've spent hours the last two weeks on medical stuff. Eye doctor's appointments for most of us, going back to pick up glasses and contacts as they come in, thyroid re-check for me( it was low so they upped my dose, maybe I'll have a little more energy soon), making Owen's next appointments, and dealing with insurance issues.

Tomorrow, we are taking the kids to the zoo for Brenna's birthday (not until the 7th, but easier to celebrate over the weekend), then going to meet Kristi and Simon for dinner. They have an apartment in Seattle near the hospital that they get to use until Carlitos is released. So, we're meeting them there and then we'll take turns visiting Carlitos and staying with the kids who aren't old enough to visit the NICU(13 and up). I can't wait to see the baby again! He's taking about 40% of his feeds orally and just got the top off his incubator! We can't wait until he gets to come home!

Beautiful Brenna!

Brenna helping herself to peanut butter

I know I post a lot about what a handful Brenna is, and that is definitely true. She is also the cutest, sweetest little girl in the whole world ( and no that doesn't preclude your little girl being the cutest, sweetest little girl in the world. I'm not entirely sure how, but it is possible for all little girls to simultaneously be the cutest, and sweetest.).

I took just Brenna with me this week while I was running errands. We walked in the door at the library and she immediately started waving and saying hi to everyone we saw. Then as we walked away, she she would wave again and say bye-bye. She helped me put the books in the book drop and carefully picked out her own books. Then she ran all the books through the self-checkout and helped me carry them to the car.

I try to remind myself that some of the most annoying toddler traits are actually some of the best traits for a teenager to have. Brenna is (or tries really hard to be) self sufficient, helpful, and friendly. These are traits I want her to have as she grows up. Right now it might mean that I have a huge mess to clean up when she's done being self-sufficient, or that it takes me twice as long to do a task because she's "helping", but it will serve her well when she's older.

Girl's Day Out!

Devon took Morgan and Brenna on a day out last weekend. They went to the small local touch tank, although they didn't actually get to play in the touch portion because it was being cleaned. Then they ran around the pier for a while, went to Dairy Queen , and finally the park. Brenna was pretty worn out by the time they got home and went right to sleep without her dinner.

Now, check out how they looked on the way home. I don't think they wanted to come back.

Helped Again!

I went in the sewing room yesterday to get a pair of scissors and look what I found. Oh yeah, someone (no one, Mr. Nobody) decided I needed help threading my serger.

Luckily it wasn't too messed up this time! Whoever it was, just spun the the thread guide around until it wouldn't turn anymore. I didn't even have to re-thread the whole thing, I just had to spin it back the other way.
I just don't understand why they need to do stuff like this. 

Wite-Out

Do you remember Wite-Out? You know, that stuff that covered up writing/typing mistakes back in the eighties before printing out a new copy was so cheap and easy that no one needed it anymore. That stuff that I NEVER used for anything other than decorating my notebook because you could see it on the paper and then someone would have known that I had actually made a mistake. Well, it seems that we had some here in the house. No one seems to have purchased it, but it was new enough to not be all dried out. Brenna found it! Want to see?

Yummy!

So, it seems to come off after about 15 minutes of soaking in water which worked well on her hands and feet (think nail polish), but isn't going to be effective on her face. Somehow, I think soaking her head in water for 15 minutes would not be a good idea, so I guess we get to take the "let it wear off naturally" approach.
 So, what did you do today? Want to trade, just for a day?

OOPS!!!??

It seems that Mr. Nobody and his sister Miss Not Me have been visiting again.

This used to be my NEW curtain rod. I replaced the one that got bent up just before Christmas.  Yeah, it lasted about a month. This is actually a record, usually they last 6 months to a year. Blinds aren't really an option, they cost a lot more to replace and get destroyed even faster. Plus you have the whole strangling hazard thing and I just don't trust their safety measures to stand up to the kind of use my kids can dish out. So, I guess I just need to keep investing in curtain rods. Anyone know where I can buy them by the case?

Sleep {Old Pictures}

I was going through old pictures, trying to come up with some form of organization (and failing), but in the process I found all of these adorable pictures of my children sleeping in strange positions. My kids have a tendency to drop naps way too early. Since we've usually lived in small houses and the kids share rooms, just putting them in a crib and letting them cry it out doesn't work very well even if I can stand to listen to their cries. Most of my kids have also been able to climb out of their cribs by 18 months old. I've actually had the last two in portable cribs instead of full size ones just because they are harder to climb out of. What that results in though, is very tired kids who manage to fall asleep in some strange places.

Owen

Devon and Duncan

Connor, and yes, he's really asleep!

Morgan, in the middle of the yard.

 Morgan

Morgan

 Brenna, sleeping in a carrier on mom isn't really unusual, but this was in the middle of our very noisy Ducks tour.

Brenna and Owen in Owen's hospital bed

Brenna

Duncan is the only one of my kids who ever slept in a stroller out in public older than about 6 months.

Morgan

Morgan in the unfinished bathroom at Grandma's cabin in the mountains. Her eyes are open, but she is really asleep.

Morgan

Morgan

Owen

Devon, Owen, and Brenna

Morgan

Morgan, right in front of the door. I can't remember if she was going out or coming in.

Brenna, after escaping from her crib and playing with my wallet and yarn.

 We got our first digital camera when Duncan was a baby and I haven't scanned in any photos from before then, so most of the ones with Devon , Connor, and Cameron aren't on here. I have a really great one of Devon asleep on the bathroom floor after getting up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. she finished up and just collapsed on the floor right in front of the toilet. I probably shouldn't show that one on the internet anyway, though.